Google Hangout on Right to Work in Michigan

Join us on Friday, December 14, at noon ET for our “Lunch with Heritage” Google+ Hangout. We will be hosting a panel discussion on what right to work means for Michigan, and what it means for employers and employees. We want to hear from you. If you have questions you would like to ask our panel, you can leave a comment on this blog, tweet @Heritage with the hashtag #HeritageHangout, or leave a comment on our Google+ page. You can watch the hangout here, or on our Google+ page.

Join The Discussion

I'm from Michigan and am ecstatic that Right to Work passed! If unions want members, they need to present themselves in a manner that shows all the "benefits" of joining. At this point, I see no benefit to members – only to the hierarchy and to politicians, namely Democrats. People should be free to associate with whom they choose and it should not be a condition of employment that you must join a union. Would it be any different to say that you had to join a political party and pay dues as a condition of employment? Or be forced to join a church, fitness center, club, eat broccoli 3 times a week, etc. etc.? Sounds ridiculous, I know, but that's what being forced to join a union equates to, at least for me. Being forced to do something against your beliefs AND having to pay for it to boot! Furthermore, unions don't present a good front when they are violent and foul mouthed as they were in Michigan. What a turnoff for many people. Is that what they'll do if you choose not to join their union? It's happened in the past.

It's simply amazing that no one has mentioned that not everyone working in Michigan is a Union member. The Unions make it all about them.

There are thousands of Michiganders who get up and go to work daily and don't have the luxury of taking a sick/personal day to walk around a rally in Lansing. If I were a parent with children in those school districts I'd be at the next School Board Meeting and voice my displeasure. Has anyone asked how much it costs parents to find babysitters/daycare for their children while the teachers were out playing? Or did they stay home and lose wages because the "wonderful" teachers wanted to demonstrate and left their responsibilities behind? It's the me, me, me generation teaching children now. What an example to set.

In signing the "Right to Work" bill Governor Snyder did the right thing for all Michigan workers, not just the unions.

Question: Would it be possible for you to compile a list of the leaders of thee 10 or 12 largst labor unions showing their annual compensation including salary and all other perks. Then show the annual earnings of an average member of that union? I believe this would be enlightening to the public and the union members.

I don't understand why unions are against right-to-work. They support Democrat/Liiberal/Marxist policies of taking from the rich to support the poor, i.e., take from those who work and give to those who don't work. Isn't the same reasoning to let someone who doesn't pay union dues to reap the benefits that dues-paying members earned?

The unions were founded when industrialism was taking advantage of individuals and there were huge monopolies occupying the landscape. The mindset was if you want to work for the corporation then you had to adhere to their long hours and poor working conditions all with minimum pay. If you didn't like those terms then simply you didn't work. So the workers came together and thus unions were formed. The mindset and lesson learned was monopolies are bad news for they elimimate freedom of choice for not just the consumer but also the skilled labor. Somewhere along the lines now the unions are the monopolies for they are all encompassing in their particular area again eliminating freedom of choice to the same above mentioned parties. You would figure people would learn from the past, when anything becomes so big that they encompass so much, it no longer is about protecting the individuals freedoms but rather on self preservation of the organization itself. This is all just my humble opinion, but while RTW isn't perfect and some individuals will slip through the cracks, it is necessary to put the rights of choice back into the hands of the individuals.

Michigan workers want to see how RIGHT TO WORK STATES ARE PRODUCTIVE AND PROSPEROUS, TAKE A LOOK AT TENN. AUTO MANUFACTURING..TENN. RATED NO. 1 THREE STRAIGHT YEARS WITH THREE AUTO MANUF. IN THE STATE..WE ARE NO. 1 AND SOUTH CAROLINA IS NO.2..OHIO AND MI. ARE 6 AND 7..WE ARE NO. 1BECAUSE WE ARE A RIGHT TO WORK STATE..G.M. HAD A UNION PLANT IN COLUMBIA PRODUCING SATURNS BUT CLOSED SEVERAL YEARS AGO..WISH YOU LUCK MI..YOU MADE THE RIGHT DECISION..GOOD LUCK….

Wow. I've never seen a more clear example the right-wing echo chamber. Republican hacks that keep repeating lies until people believe them. "RTW is pro-worker!" Right. And Fox is fair and balanced. Truth is, NO ONE HAS TO JOIN A UNION. And as an educator, let me say that Ms. Burke is clearly talking out of her backside. How many days has she spent in the classroom? She has no clue! There's no empirical evidence that "reforms" like segregation..I mean school choice, merit pay, alternative teacher certification, etc. raise student outcomes. And someone needs to tell her to clean up her office.

What the heck is wrong with you? if no one has to join a union why are you so upset in making sure that's protected? People might have the freedom not to join but the unions that infiltrate the business regulate the hire to pay union dues whether a member or not. How is that fair? Maybe it should be "right to work without union dues/costs." if unions were doing an honorable job for their members unions would do it at a cost of cents, businesses wouldn't be losing their business and members wouldn't be losing their jobs…How disgustingly corrupt and more dangerous American unions have become since their close friendship ties with government.

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